


Never Gonna Dance Again

by CaptainAwesome242



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Post-Wonder Woman (2017), Slow Dancing, mentions of steve trevor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 04:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11959332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainAwesome242/pseuds/CaptainAwesome242
Summary: So I'm never gonna dance again,The way I danced with you.





	Never Gonna Dance Again

**Author's Note:**

> Based loosely off of George Michael's 'Careless Whisper'

The war was over, the world was healing and rebuilding, and everyone was celebrating. 

Everyone except Diana Prince.

Well, that is to say, she was among the many who were grieving - she was under no illusions that she was the only person to have lost someone. But she was also alone in a world she didn't yet understand; her mission complete for now but she knew in her heart she'd be needed again and again. She could never go home.

But it wasn't all bad, she still had Etta. Etta had graciously taken her into her home, fed and clothed her while she was at the moment incapable of doing so. She always knew when to keep Diana company and when to leave her be, knew that the cure to her nightmares was some hot tea and the soft glow of the living room lamp. 

But as much as she respected Diana's space, and understood that her heart would never truly mend, Etta knew she had to help the poor thing out of her rut. It was healthy to grieve, Etta had done her fair share herself, but life went on, and Steve wouldn't want her to mourn forever. She needed to get the girl out of the house and meeting people, finding herself a job. She had a few connections and could get Diana a position as a secretary; it wasn't exactly glamorous but it would bridge a gap before she could move onto something better.

But the job could wait. For now Diana needed to adjust to the new world around her and to meet people to bring her out of her shell. There was a celebratory ball in the local dance hall at the weekend, and Etta had gotten Diana a ticket.

The Amazonian had initially protested, but had eventually been forced to relent - this unassuming woman was a force to be reckoned with. 

Saturday came around quickly and Diana found herself walking into dance hall on the arm of young woman called Alice. Etta had told her that women didn't go alone to these things, but she herself was too old for such things so she'd enlisted the help of her friend's daughter. Diana thought it was a ridiculous custom that she couldn't go alone, although she suspected Etta had exaggerated its severity in order to get her to comply. 

As soon as they entered the pair was approached by a tall dark haired man who asked Alice to dance. With barely a glance back to Diana the girl took the man's proffered arm and allowed herself to be led to the floor. Diana didn't mind, smiling fondly at the couple before smoothing her dress and stepping further into the room.

The last, and actually first, dance she went to in Germany she'd worn an elegant blue dress with an open back, and while it had been useful in hiding her sword and distracting the guards she'd only worn it out of necessity as the woman wearing it happened to be the same size. This time she opted for something a little more subtle and sophisticated - a floor length salmon dress with a high square neckline and short sleeves with lace and rose embroidered details. Her hair was styled in a similar way, though with Etta's help it was sleeker and tidier than when she'd just thrown it back. 

Before, she had been looking for someone in particular: Ludendorff. Now she watched everyone and anyone; groups of young ladies giggling together, men and women mingling together, but what stole her attention the most were the couples on the dance floor. She watched after them with a strange sense of longing.

Diana was no stranger to longing. Her whole life she'd longed to be a warrior, longed to train to fight and helped to defend her people. During the war she'd longed to help people, save lives. That was a longing she'd felt with her entire being - her head, her heart, her core. It was a burning desire.

This was just painful. 

This was the longing of her broken heart. The longing for the man she loved, the man who would never come home. 

"Excuse me miss, are you alright?"

Diana looked up to the source of the voice and into a pair of bright blue eyes, and for a moment her heart stuttered. Her eyes darted around the rest of his face and she sighed internally, frustrated at herself.

"Yes, thank you," she gave him a small and what she hoped was a convincing smile.

"I don't believe you. Perhaps a dance would cheer you up?" His smile was sincere as he gestured towards the dance floor.

He was right, a dance certainly would cheer her up, however the man before her wasn't the partner she had in mind. Still, Etta made her come here to meet people and would be disappointed if she didn't have at least one dance.

Diana smiled and took the offered hand, allowing herself to be lead to the floor, as the next song began. It was a slower, quieter melody, and couples all around them began swaying. He placed one hand on her waist and took her right hand in the other before he gently lead them in a small, swaying circle. 

The movement was so familiar Diana's breath caught in her throat before she pulled herself from the memory back to the present. She looked up into her partner's face. This wasn't Steve. But she could pretend.

His blue eyes were trained on her, his dirty blond hair was cut and parted the same way, he was about the same height and his hands held her the same way. She let herself go and moved fluidly with him, the room melting away leaving just Diana and her partner, her eyes never leaving his.

But then he smiled, and she came crashing back to reality.

That wasn't Steve's smile.

Steve's lips didn't curve that way, and his mouth didn't open as wide. Steve's face crinkled and his eyes sparkled, not like this man, whose face barely moved with his smile. And when she properly looked his eyes were the wrong shade of blue, his hair the wrong blond - he barely held any resemblance to Steve at all.

Her partner frowned as she stopped the dance and pulled away, "Are you alright?"

He didn't even sound like Steve.

Diana offered an apologetic look, "I'm sorry," she said sincerely before turning towards the exit and leaving.

Taking a deep breath of the cold air she grounded herself. She felt very foolish. She'd been so desperate to have Steve back that she was willing to see him anywhere. That poor man in there had looked slightly similar to Steve, and Diana had made a fool of him without even properly looking at him. She didn't even know his name.

As she made her way back to Etta's she realised that she had come to accept the fact that Steve was gone, and looking for his features in others was only going to end in heartbreak for all involved.

She also decided that night that she would never dance like that again. Steve had taught her to dance that way. It was the first moment when they both realised they felt more for each other, a simple act of swaying together suddenly had far more intimate connotations. And she'd done it with another man because he looked slightly like Steve.

She knew that time could never mend this betrayal, but it had been the first step towards accepting that Steve really was gone.

She was alone.


End file.
